Note: The Author gratefully acknowledges the work of other writers who collected much of the information contained herein including:
Rev. Edwin M. Stone, "History of Beverly, Civil and Ecclesiastical, from it's Settlement in 1630 to 1842", Salem, 1843, Monroe & Co.
Rev. Christopher T. Thayer, "An address delivered in the First Parish, Beverly on the 200th anniversary of its Formation", 1867
Rev. Pemberton Hale Cressy, "Sermon on the 250th Anniversary of the First Parish Church in Beverly", 1917
Robert L Spiller (compiler), "The First Parish Church, Unitarian, Beverly Massachusetts", 1942
Martha Hood Southwick, "300th Anniversary: The First Parish Church, Unitarian, Beverly Massachusetts", 1967
James F. Cooper, Jr. "Tenacious of Their Liberties: The Congregationalists of Colonial Massachusetts", New York, 1999, Oxford University Press
Origins of the Church 1629-1667
The Great Awakening and Unitarianism 1729-1830
Abolition and the Civil War 1830-1872
The World Wars and Modernization 1916-1958
Distinguished Members of the Church
The Salem church was founded on 6 July 1629, part of the Puritan experiment called Massachusetts Bay. The Church was successful in spreading its influence throughout what is today Essex County, and eventually served as a mother Church for satellite gatherings in Salem Village (now Danvers), Salem Farms (now Peabody), Wenham and Beverly. In 1635, Roger Conant, John Balch, John Woodbury and Richard Trask were granted land on the north side of the Bass River, which became known as the “Bass River Side” of Salem. For years, the residents of Bass River Side traveled to Church each week by riding a ferry across the river and walking to the Church in Salem. In 1650, residents were set off as a separate precinct but still had to attend Church in Salem. At first, parishioners met in dwelling houses, but in 1656, they were allowed to construct a Church on the northwest corner of the old burial ground, and to retain a teacher to instruct them while maintaining communion with the Salem Church. On 20 September 1667, fifty-one male and female residents of the Bass River Side made a confession of their faith, and renewed their Covenant in their new Church, which they named the First Church of Christ at Bass River Side in Salem. On 3 November 1668 they established a town, which they named Beverly.
Rev. John Hale 1667-1700
Rev. Thomas Blowers, 1701-1729
For their first Minister, the Church invited the Reverend John Hale to settle in the new town. Hale was born in Charlestown Massachusetts on 3 June 1636, the son of Robert Hale, an immigrant from Kent England and a blacksmith by trade. John graduated from Harvard College in 1657 with a Divinity Degree. In 1690 he served in the Expedition against Canada as Chaplain. He is, perhaps, best remembered for his role in the Salem Witch Hysteria of 1692. At first, he vigorously supported the prosecution of the accused and participated in several Boards of Inquisition. When his wife, was accused, though, he experienced a change of heart and spoke out against the trials. His 1698 publication "A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft." became the definitive condemnation of the use of Spectral Evidence in the prosecution of witches. Rev. Hale died on 15 May, 1700, while still ministering to the Church. He is buried in the Old South Burial Ground.
From a religious perspective, the First Church began life as a Puritan theocracy of the First Order. It was initially among the more conservative Churches in the Massachusetts Colony. By the time of Beverly's creation, children of the first settlers of the Colony had grown to adulthood and faced a dilemma of their faith: Within the "covenant" style of worship practiced by the Puritans, the children of church members who had been baptized in the Church but not admitted to full Communion (called unregenerate or "halfway" members) had no right to have their children baptized. In a world where up to half of all children died before the age of five, the fate of many young souls was unclear. The Cambridge Platform of 1662 sanctioned a modification of Puritan Faith known as the "Halfway Covenant" which permitted children of non-members to be baptized provided their parents “owned the Covenant” of the Church. This revision of teaching, widely rejected by lay Church goers of the time as a betrayal of the Puritan ethic, sparked a decline in Church participation throughout New England that climaxed in the "Great Awakening" of 1741-42 and led to much more liberal views on religious practices. The Beverly Church adopted the baptismal principles of the Cambridge Platform by unanimous vote on 9 February 1667/8, and overtly voted acceptance of the other aspects of the Platform (with some reservations) on 9 June 1735. True to form, Volume 2 of the First Parish Register includes the special covenant to be spoken by parents when baptizing their children and others who were not members of the Church.
Another test of Puritan faith, or the Congregational Way, as it was called, centered on the Puritan doctrine of lay participation and localized self rule. As early as 1648 there were calls from London for more centralized Government through the use of Ministers and Elders and the curtailment of lay liberties. Even though religious leaders of Massachusetts Bay rejected these efforts as contrary to their beliefs, several Massachusetts Churches adopted this Presbyterian style of governance. The behavior of these dissenting churches angered many lay Churchgoers and increased their insistence on control at the local level. Lay members of the Beverly Church challenged the authority of Rev. Thomas Blowers in 1701 when, as a condition of his employment, they demanded that he agree to put all future Church admissions to a majority vote of the lay members and make the Minister's records public to the membership. It is largely because of this latter requirement that our Church records are in possession of the Church and not in the Minister's private collection.
In 1682 the first meeting house was sold and a new one was erected in the same spot as the current building. It measured a mere 50 feet by 40 feet, and the belfry was located in the middle of the roof, from which the bell-rope hung to the center aisle. Men and women sat on either side of the aisle while children, non-members and slaves were relegated to benches or stairways. The seats were hinged and, it was said, they sounded like musketry when the Congregation stood or sat. Because it was the only building in town where a fire was never made, a wood floor was laid and a powder room was excavated under the Church in 1726. Parishioners were always careful to vacate the building during thunderstorms, due to the danger of lightning. The stored powder was removed to a Powder House on the Common in 1767.
In October of 1713, by incorporation of the Great and General Court, the Second Parish was set off for those members living north of Conant Street in Beverly. From this time on, members of the First Church Ruling Council no longer served as Town Selectmen.
Rev. Joseph Champney 1729-1773
Rev. Joseph Willard, 1772-1781
Rev. Joseph McKeen, 1785-1802
Rev. Abiel Abbot 1803-1828
By 1741, lay confidence in the Congregational Way had declined to the point where most church members no longer participated in the its affairs and Church meetings became difficult to conduct due to poor attendance Some Ministers of Massachusetts Bay took notice of a young English minister named George Whitefield who preached an intense revivalist type of sermon to Churchgoers in the southern Colonies and extended an invitation to him to preach in Massachusetts in hopes of reviving religious fervor in the Colony. Whitefield delivered sermons to several Massachusetts Churches and certainly increased religious passions amongst the laity. However, his message was one of personal religious experience and more universal salvation instead of the communal and selective message that the orthodox Puritans taught. This resulted in challenges to the orthodox Ministry that became known as the "Great Awakening".
The Puritan Congregationalists frowned on the use of any music or celebration in their service but as attitudes within the Colony changed, this restriction was challenged. In the early 18th century, the Church Deacons were expected to lead the Congregation in singing hymns. The Deacon would read a line of the song, and mark the tune, and the Parishioners followed in turn. In 1764, by vote of the Church Meeting the first choir was selected and seated together to revive psalm reading and to improve the regularity of worship. In 1774, the Church voted (with substantial dissent) to locate the choir to the front gallery, opposite pulpit and commissioned the Deacons "to pitch the tune and take the lead in singing". Puritan principles, were not completely eliminated, however: As was typical for New England Churches of this period, Christmas and Easter were not celebrated in the Church until well into the 1800s.
In 1771, the third meeting house was erected at the current site on Cabot Street. It measured 70 feet by 53 feet. The Pulpit was located on the north side of the building (the Ellis Square side), reached by a flight of stairs from the entrance on Hale Street. The sixty pews were arranged on either side of a four-foot aisle, and there was an upper gallery of seats on the Hale Street side opposite the Pulpit. Negros sat on benches on the east and west side of the gallery. During construction, Church services were held under a large Elm tree on the Common near the corner of Hale and Dane Streets. The building was split into two and expanded in 1795 to increase seating. An interesting artifact of this construction is an old ships mast that was used as a main beam support for the floor. A glass window has been placed in the ceiling of Hale Hall that makes this artifact visible with a flashlight. In 1803 a Church Bell made by Paul Revere, weighing 1244 pounds was hung in the steeple.
Evolution in the religious sentiments of Beverly Church members accelerated through the remainder of the 18th century until, by 1800, Church members embraced all kinds of varying religious sentiments, from strict Congregationalism to concepts of personal religious experience and universal salvation. When the Reverend Abiel Abbot was ordained as Minister in 1802, he found himself presiding over a church that was fragmenting rapidly. In December 1802, John Dike and about 50 members of the Church who desired to preserve their more conservative Congregationalist beliefs petitioned to be dismissed from First Parish to join a new Church, variously called "Third Parish", "New South" or "Dane Street". In 1803 another group petitioned to be dismissed to form the “Baptist Society". Other groups took the opportunity to find religious practices that were more suited to their personal beliefs and by the time of his sudden death in 1828, Rev. Abbot was ministering to a Church that had de facto embraced the liberal principles of Universal Salvation that has become generally known as Unitarianism. The transformation was formalized with the 1830 ordination of Rev. Christopher Toppan Thayer, a professed Unitarian. In 1832 the name of the Church was officially changed to “First Parish Church in Beverly”.
In 1810, Hannah Hill and Joanna Prince, two women from First Parish and Third Parish Church sought a way to gather in young children they saw loitering in the street during Sunday Services. They formed a Sunday School Society and were provided formal funding from the Church in the form of Hymnals donated by Robert S Rantoul, who later became its director. This Sunday school, currently headed by Deborah Sweet, is considered to be the oldest continuously operating Sunday School in New England.
The Beverly Female Charitable Society was formed in 1810 by members of the First Parish Church to help needy women "in quiet and unobtrusive ways", the second oldest organization of its kind established in the country This organization continue its secretive operations to the present day.
In 1820 land at the corner of Federal and Chapman streets was donated to the Church by Nathan Dane for the building of a Vestry. The building, dedicated on 19 December, was used for many years for the Sunday School, a Charity school and for the transaction of Parish business.
In 1828, the Church gave one of its silver tankards to the Second Parish Church in North Beverly upon the dedication of its new building. Another tankard was given to the Beverly Farms church when its building was erected in 1831.
Rev. Christopher Toppan Thayer, 1830-1858
Rev. John Calvin Kimball 1859-1870
Slavery was a common phenomenon in Beverly during the eighteenth century. As the town grew and prospered, Blacks and Indians were made to work on farms, in homes and on docks. What was uncommon was the number of Blacks who regularly attended Church in Beverly, and participated in virtually every activity of the Church. One man, Robin Mingo, who was owned by Thomas Woodbury was baptized into the Church on 15 July 1722 at the age of 60 "on a personal and publick profession of faith and repentance". Robin and his Indian wife Deborah were regular attendees at Church Service. Upon the death of Thomas Woodbury, Robin and Deborah inherited their freedom, as well as a piece of beach front land on which to live out their lives, what we now know as Mingo Beach. Robin died in 1742; Deborah in 1759. A Black Woman, Juno "now free" was admitted into full Communion on 1 September 1776. As the collective spirit of the Church became more liberal, its peculiar attitude towards its Black members hardened into an Abolitionist view.
In 1835, plans were drawn for a major expansion of the Church building. A second floor was added along with an organ, a Choir loft and a balcony. The seating arrangement was moved 90 degrees to its current orientation. Upon completion, the Church building was said to demonstrate some of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the country.
In 1844, with the coming of the railroad, land values along the coast of Beverly began a rapid and steady rise as Boston merchants and lawyers like Charles Greely Loring built extensive summer mansions that forever changed the character of the town and the Church. These new residents adopted the First Parish Church as their own.
During the Civil War, a new and youthful minister, Rev. John Calvin Kimball, preached a powerful strain of reform from the First Parish pulpit. Kimball was an avid abolitionist who strongly supported the Union cause during the war. He sought out and was appointed as a military chaplain to the 9th Massachusetts regiment, which he accompanied on its trek to North Carolina where the regiment was stationed for about nine months. Kimball’s anti-slavery preaching was not fully embraced by the congregation in Beverly though, and they sent him a formal letter requesting that he stop discussing political controversies from the pulpit. In response Kimball informed the congregation that he felt called upon to address any and all manner of subjects that had moral and religious implications. In his view, the oppressive and dehumanizing institution of slavery certainly warranted being the subject of sermons, though, by no means, the minister argued, did he believe he had been excessive on this or any other political subject. Given the tensions between Kimball and the congregation, it is not surprising that when Rev. Kimball informed the parish that he had been asked to serve a second tour of duty as a chaplain to a colored regiment in the last months of the Civil War, the Parish Board rejected his request on the grounds that he had already been away and that the congregants needed him.
During the War the women of the Church would regularly gather and "pick lint" from their table linen to make bandages for the wounded.
On October 2nd, 1867 the First
Parish celebrated its two-hundredth anniversary with an all day commemorative
service featuring an address by Rev. Christopher Thayer that has become one of
the principal references of the history of the City of Beverly. Rev.
Edward Everett Hale also spoke an poet Lucy Larcom read a poem for the occasion.
This was the first such celebration, but would not be the last.
Rev. Ellery Channing Butler 1872-1894
Rev. William Bernard Geoghegan 1894-1896
Rev. Benjamin Reynolds Bulkeley 1897-1915
From the latter half of the nineteenth century to the first quarter of the twentieth, the First Parish Church was the preeminent religious institution for upper-level society in Beverly. The city had grown to be a summer haven for the rich and the famous, who purchased land along the Beverly shore at bargain rates and built enormous “cottages” where they could escape the unhealthy airs of the City. Most of these summer residents were full members of the Church and many contributed to the well being of the church building and the Sunday School program. This situation continued until the Depression of 1929.
In 1880 the Church Organ was replaced by the regal instrument now in use in the Church. This organ, manufactured by Hook and Hastings required extensive renovations to the east side of the Church building to house the organ pipes. The new organ uses some of the original pipes from the 1835 instrument. The building was modernized once again in 1902 by adding a lavatory on the south corner and a Minister's Reception Room on the north corner. Heating stoves were installed in the Church in 1867, and a "modern" heating system was finally installed in the Church in 1924. Prior to this time, the only heat available was through the use of coal pans for foot warmers. The heating system was upgraded to oil in 1949.
In 1906, the Parish House was erected on Federal Street and used for most of the Church's events. It was much larger that the Vestry it replaced, being two stories high and including a kitchen, hall/stage, balcony and office for the Sunday School director. The Vestry was sold to the Salvation Army in 1921.
From 1909 to 1911, during his Presidency, William Howard Taft was an occasional summertime parishioner. It was customary for the President, when he was present, to deliver a few words during the service. On the occasion of his last appearance in the Church, he delivered the sermon. This was an extraordinary honor for our Church, and a small plaque was later placed on the pew where he sat to commemorate the occasion.
The one hundredth anniversary of the Sunday School was celebrated on October 2nd, 1910. President William Howard Taft delivered an address, and a tablet commemorating the founders was unveiled which still hangs on the wall of the Sanctuary.
In 1913, Philip Morrill became Sexton of the church, a post he filled for over 55 years. He was succeeded by his son Carroll, who continued the service until his death in 2004.
The World Wars and Modernization 1916-1958
Rev. Pemberton Hale Cressy, 1916-1920
Rev. Howard Charles Gale 1921-1924
Rev. Fred Rinaldo Lewis 1925-1941
Rev. William Herman Gysan 1942-1958
During the First World War, members of the First Parish Aid Alliance, (a Church association founded by Rev. Bulkeley in 1896) headed the Surgical Dressing group. A Unitarian Sewing group met at the Parish House to make garments for the soldiers.
The two hundred- fiftieth anniversary of the Church was celebrated on September 29, 1917. The key address was delivered by Rev. Pemberton Hale Cressy. A major part of the celebration was an historical exhibit of old Church artifacts and records from 1667.
The 1920s, 30s and 40s saw First Parish Church increasingly reaching outside its own walls to help others and to demonstrate its liberal beliefs.
Rev. Fred Lewis initiated a program of relief, assistance and fellowship with the Unitarian Church in Transylvania in 1941 that remains to the present day.
In 1931 Chimes were installed in the Church, replacing the Church Bell in use since 1802 cast by Paul Revere. The chimes were a legacy of Mary Adelaide Butler, widow of Rev. Ellery Channing Butler, our ninth minister in memory of their son Max Lovell Butler, who died as a young man. The Revere bell was given to the Emmanuel Congregational Church in Rial Side but was damaged during a fire that resulted in the collapse of their steeple. It can be found today mounted on the site of the former Church on Bridge Street.
On October 11, 1942, the Church celebrated its two hundred-seventy fifth anniversary coincident with the ordination of its fifteenth minister, Rev. William Herman Gysan. the keynote address was delivered by Rev. Samuel Elliot, Pastor of the Arlington Street Church and past president of the American Unitarian Association.
In August 1955 the Parish House was temporarily taken over by the Beverly National Bank after its adjoining main office was gutted by fire. From the time of its construction, the Parish House continued to be a major focus of the social and educational groups of the church. However, even at this time the burden of maintaining an aging structure in downtown Beverly was difficult for the Church to bear.
The Organ keyboard was replaced in 1957 with one that operated the pipes electrically. The original keyboard was left in place and can be seen today in the back of the choir loft.
Rev. Harry Heyden Hoehler 1958-1964
Rev. Frederick Lipp 1964-1969
Rev. Peter Wallace Denny 1970-1975
Rev. Edgar Tobias Van Buren 1975-1979
Rev. Robert Edward Jones 1980-1983
Rev. Peter Edward Lanzillotta 1985-1993
Rev. Helen C. Baylies 1994-1997
Rev. Sylvia Howe 1998-2007
The Church became politically active in the 1960s during a time of turmoil and crisis in US. Rev. Fred Lipp led protesters to Selma Alabama to demonstrate for Civil Rights in March 1965. During the Vietnam era, the church served the needs of the anti-war movement, and counseled conscientious objectors.
In 1967, the church celebrated its three hundredth anniversary. The celebration was held for both the Church and the City, and featured Senator Leveret Saltenstall as its keynote speaker. As part of the program a pamphlet, "History of First Parish" was written by Martha Hood Southwick which became another milestone of church's written history.
In 1973 the Parish House was sold to the Beverly National Bank which demolished it to make way for its parking lot. , The proceeds were used to excavate a basement under the church. This new space, was designed to house the Sunday School as well as a kitchen, lavatories and offices. The east side of the Church building was expanded, the Minister's and Sexton's offices were created from the foyer, and the Prince room was added.
In 1986, First Parish joined with other Beverly Churches in offering meals to the needy- what has become the Monday Night Supper Program. This program has been active without interruption to the present day.
In 1995 Parishioners Julia Quigley Long and Nelda Quigley established a long standing Church program of assistance to the village of Santa Anna in El Salvador that includes annual trips to the region by members of the Church as part of the ASAPROSAR "Barefoot Angels" program.
In February 2002 the Unitarian Universalist Association formally recognized First Parish as a Welcoming Congregation, declaring its welcome and affirmation of persons who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual or transgender. Slightly more than a month after the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages, the Rev. Sylvia Howe officiated at the first same-sex wedding at First Parish on June 19th. The marriage ceremony of First Parish members, Arthur Thompson and Scott Gorman was witnessed by their family, friends and many, many First Parish members. It was, indeed, a historic event in the life of First Parish Church.
In recent years, the Church has evolved into a small liberal religious community. As is typical for Unitarian-Universalists, its members manage to retain a sense of their own conservative roots even as they pursue their individual spiritual goals. In many ways its cultural story mirrors that of our country as a whole.
Throughout its history, the First Church claimed among its members the most influential members of Beverly society. Many of their names can be found on the street signs of Beverly today. Rev. Joseph Willard, ordained at the first Church on 25 November 1772 left his position in November 1781 to become President of Harvard College. Rev. Joseph McKeen, his successor left the pulpit in August of 1802 to become President of Bowdoin College. Nathan Dane, lawyer and longtime member of the Church, was one of the authors of the US Constitution, and was instrumental in organizing the Hartford Convention in which Federalists lobbied to secede from the Union in 1812. Robert Rantoul Sr. who for many years served the Church as Deacon, Clerk and Superintendent of the Sunday school also, served as Overseer of the Poor in Beverly, representative of the General Court. Rantoul donated the first hymnals to the fledgling Sunday school in 1810, an institution that has become the longest continuously running Sunday school in New England. His son, Robert Rantoul Jr, a well known Abolitionist and advocate of reform in the public schools, served as US Representative from 1835-39, US District Attorney for Massachusetts from 1846-49, and US Senator from 1851 until his premature death in 1852. In 1910, William Howard Taft, President of the United States was a regular attendee during the summer months.